The Heart-breaking truth
by LadyBugChaser94
Summary: A new villain out to get revenge on Adrien's father, Mr. Agreste, broadcasts secret information about his father's history that puts Adrien in complete shock and breaks his fragile heart. Adrien in a fit of rage seeks out revenge on his own father in what looks like a fight to the death between Cat Noir and HawkMoth, his own father.
1. Chapter 1: The Reveal

It was dusk when Adrien, Nino, Chloe, Ayla, and Marinette all stood in his room with their eyes glued to his television screen, standing close to each other with expressions of uneasiness and fear. Hours earlier, he and Marinette had their secret identity revealed by a villain, known as Telecast, a young television news reporter who had recently been akumatized due to him being fired by his boss, Gabriel Agreste, Adrien's dad. Little did Mr. Agreste know, just a couple hours prior to his firing, Mark Swanson, a.k.a. Telecast found out that Mr. Agreste, the owner of the news station where he worked, was HawkMoth, and that he had been hiding some important information away from his son regarding his family history in his secret journal that was tucked away in his drawer of his office.

Now that he had all the information he needed, he was going to broadcast it to all of Paris in an attempt to get revenge at Mr. Agreste.

"Okay, okay, okay," Telecast said giggling, "Here's the real deal about the Agreste family." Marinette looked over at Adrien whose eyes were still glued to the television like everyone else. She could see that his eyes were starting to widen as his shoulders were tensing up. "Now, I have to say, when I read this guy's journal, I felt so sorry for his son, Adrien. I mean, it seems like he doesn't even give a damn about this kid." Telecast opened the small blue journal that he had acquired from Mr. Agreste's office and turned to a particular page, "Listen to this: It says "Though it seems like I could be hurting him in the long run, I must not ever let him know that he wasn't the one actually responsible for his mother's death. I did indeed poison her, but I had to make him think he did it instead with the flower he gave her. He may not end up remembering his fifth birthday very fondly, but at least he'll know why I decided that I wasn't going to buy my first gift for him this year. I have another confession: I have also decided to tell him that because he is the cause of his mother's death, he will no longer have celebratory birthday parties for years to come as punishment. I told him it'd be better to take this punishment rather than me call the police and have him taken away to a foster home where he might get touched inappropriately by his new foster parent or parents. I have to keep him around to maintain my image as a 'loving father'; therefore I cannot allow him to be taken from me too soon", could you believe this guy?" All of the girls gasped, their fingers touching the corners of their mouths and their eyes widening. Adrien's eyes widened further, his eyes getting teary as his hands began to shake and his mouth quivered. "Oh man," said Nino looking over to Adrien with a look of sympathy. Everyone looked at Adrien as he stood there not moving anything but his shaking hands. "This guy has lied to his kid multiple times," Telecast continued, "kept him from having any pets with no reason being related to any allergies, slapped him, called him "Garbage" and "Worthless" any time the kid disappointed him, pushed him down the stairs when he wasn't looking, convinced the kid that he murdered his own Mom, then punish him for said crime he didn't commit by making sure that the kid never have any birthday parties just so he could save money in his wallet and spend it on himself instead! Oh, and he molested his assistant once," he looked down at the book then back to the camera, "Or twice," he looked down again at the book then back at the camera, "Three times, actually," Telecast stepped closer to the camera with a smirk on his face, "So yeah, Adrien, that's your father right there. Happy Father's Day!"

Adrien slowly shook his head as he backed up slowly to the window, "No, no, this can't be true," he said, his voice starting to break, "Oh my God, this can't be happening; this can't be true!" "Wow, Adrien, that's seriously, like, sad and stuff. Are you okay?" asked Chloe. Adrien shot her a death glare, "Oh my God, Chloe, that's such a stupid question! Do I look 'okay'?! Do I look okay, right now?!" Chloe's eyes widened, "Well, no, but you know, I read in some scientific article that 'hugs from your boo can help heal a broken heart'," She said with a smile and her arms wide open. "That's it; you are literally the most idiotic bitch that I have ever met!" said Adrien. Chloe's mouth dropped open. "Don't give me that stupid look; give the heck out of my house," He said grabbing her by the arm as he opened the bedroom door. He shoved her out of the room and she fell over. Then he turned back to everyone else, "I want all of you out of my house, too!" "Wait, us," asked Marinette, "But why? We don't want to leave you here like this." "Yeah, man," said Nino, "I mean, if you need some help going through this, we're here for you, you know, we don't want to leave you like this. We can help." "You want to help?" asked Adrien, tears streaming down his cheeks. All of them nodded. "Then get out of my room, please. I don't want to talk about anything; I just want to be left alone!" All his friends exchanged glances, and then they sulkily headed for the door. Adrien passed by them as they all left the room, and once they were all out he shut the door behind them and walked to his bed where he plopped down onto his mattress and lay his head. Outside the bedroom, Marinette had her ear against the closed bedroom door; she could hear Adrien loudly sobbing. Her mouth quivered, "Aww, poor Adrien! His childhood was so awful; it makes me want to cry!" "Poor Adrien?" asked Chloe with her hands on hips, making a pouty face, "What about poor me?! I can't believe he just broke my heart like that! I feel so crushed!" Everyone else gave Chloe a dirty look. "I wished you were crushed," mumbled Marinette. "Um, excuse me, what was that," asked Chloe. "Nothing," said Marinette as her and Ayla passed the pouty-faced blond girl still giving them the stink-eye. "Slutty McBitch-face," Marinette mumbled again as she walked down the stairs. Ayla giggled as she walked down the stairs behind her. Nino followed them both. "Hmph! Whatevs!" said Chloe as she made her way down the stairs. The four of them were making their way towards the door when suddenly, Nathalie Sancouer, Mr. Agreste's assistant came running towards them. She stopped in front of Marinette, "Quick, one of you tell me where is Adrien!" "Um, he's in his room," said Marinette casually. "Thank you so much," Nathalie replied, and then she ran up the stairs and darted for Adrien's room. She knocked on the door and began calling out his name. "Leave me alone, Nathalie!"

"But Adrien, it's something important I need to talk to you about!" said Nathalie. "If it's anything meant to convince me that my Dad isn't the devil in disguise, I'm not listening!" The kids looked on as they stood by the door. "Um, I think you guys should go," said Marinette. "Why should we?" asked Chloe. "Super-hero stuff, Chloe," said Marinette turning to Chloe with a smirk "You wouldn't understand." Before Chloe could get a word out Ayla opened the door and pushed her out of the house along with Nino, "Okay, people, nothing to see here. Things are about to get crazy, so we got to leave." Before shutting the door behind her, Ayla called back to Marinette who was still standing in the lobby, "See you tomorrow, girl!" "See ya!" Marinette said waving. Marinette then turned around as the door closed and ran up the stairs to go try and talk to Adrien.


	2. Chapter 2: For the last time,Jack

The narrators of this story are named Jack and Lisa, and they are going to be giving their opinions about Miraculous Ladybug. Jack is a young 21-year-old white man with short, brown, wavy hair. He wears a red sweater over a white t-shirt and blue denim jeans. Lisa is a slender, 21-year-old white woman who wears a navy blue sweater over a white t-shirt and blue denim jeans. She has plain dark brown hair that reaches down to her shoulders. Jack's eyes are green, and hers is blue. They're both from Newton, Massachusetts. Now picture them.

Jack: [Sits on the green leather couch and looks over at Lisa, who is reading _Pride and Prejudice_ ] Hey Lisa, can I talk to you for a minute?

Lisa: [Puts down the book and turns to Jack] Yeah, what is it?

Jack: You know the new Nickelodeon series, Miraculous Ladybug?

Lisa: Yeah? What about it?

Jack: Have you ever thought of them as S&M characters?

Lisa: What the hell is S&M?

Jack: You know, 'Sex and Maturity'.

Lisa: What? Jack, what the fuck? 'Sex and Maturity', why?

Jack: Lisa, let's be real here. Every time I watch that cartoon, all I'm thinking about is how sexy each of them look and then I wonder why did the creators put two 15-year-olds in nice latex and leather superhero suits and make them look so suggestive when they are each in said suits. I mean, they look much better than the characters of Sailor Moon, because there's no chance that people will be able to see their underwear while she's flying in the air like that, but still, there's still so much innuendo, especially from Chat Noir.

Lisa: [Perplexed and confused] Um, okay…what the—

Jack: Honestly with the way the shows set up and the way it's already established that some secondary characters are already pining for Ladybug and Adrien I could just imagine characters probably getting a boner every time one of them see said characters.

Lisa: [Imagines a short episode of Miraculous Ladybug]

 _Adrien steps out of his limo and slowly walks by Chloe, Marinette, Aurore, and Mireille._

Adrien: [Turns his heads to the girls, smiles and waves while walking by] Hey girls.

Girls: Hi Adrien!

Marinette: [Waves shyly as he catches her eye] Hi Adrien!

Aurore: Adrien, you're so fucking sexy, I LOVE YOU!

Mireille: Adrien, let me get in your pants!

Chloe: Adrien, have my babies! I want to get in your pants first!

Adrien: Um…no thanks, Chloe.

Chloe: But we're both filthy rich and sexy, we could make beautiful children together!

Adrien: You're not really my type, I'm not interested in doing it without condoms, and I don't want to produce spoiled brats you probably won't even take care of. You're not getting my sperm to go with your ovaries!

Mireille: Then can I have sex with you?

Aurore: [Turns to Mireille and elbows her in her left boob] No way, you already stole the opportunity from me to be the new weather girl, you're not going to steal my chance to get in Adrien's pants!

Adrien: [Stops walking and turns back to look over at the girls] What?

Mireille: [Smacks Aurore's face] No way, I earned that fair and square, and plus I'm better looking than you anyway!

Aurore: Like hell, you are! I'm the most beautiful girl here! I deserve Adrien! [Looks at Adrien] Tell 'em, Adrien!

Mireille: [Pushes Aurore to the ground and body slams her] Fuck you, you're just a hussy!

Aurore: [Pulls Mireille's hair] And you're a slanty-eyed bitch!

Chloe: Get over yourselves, you foolish peasants! I'm the most beautiful girl in Paris! Heck, I'm the most beautiful girl in the entire Universe. Only I deserve to be Adrien's boo!

Both Aurore and Mireille pull Chloe down to the ground by her blouse and pull her hair.

Chloe: Ouch! Unhand me, you foolish fools! I swear if you break anything off of me, I'll have you both thrown in jail! My father is the mayor, you know!

Aurore: [Slaps Chloe] Oh my gosh! Is that you're freaking catchphrase! No one gives a fuck who your daddy is!

Mireille: [Slaps Chloe] Yeah, Slutty McBitch-face! No cares!

Chloe: [Smacks them both] Have dare you! I may get around but I am not a bitch!

 _All three girls continue fighting on the floor, while Marinette and Adrien stare down at them with confusion._

Adrien: [Turns to Marinette] Hey Marinette, do you want to go make out in the janitor's closet.

Marinette: [Turns to Adrien with a smile] Why yes! I'd love to!

Adrien: [Ecstatic]Great! Maybe afterwards, we can do our Chemistry homework together. I brought condoms.

Marinette: Well, don't mind if I do!

Both of them leave the three girls and walk into the school together.

Lisa: That is so disgusting, Jack why would you think of it that way. That would send a bad message to kids about having sex. What the actual fuck?

Jack: [Winks at Lisa with a smirk on his face] 'What the actual fuck' indeed.

Lisa: O_O!

Jack: And just picture how it is for Marinette when she dons on that red polka-dotted suit.

 _Lisa imagines another scenario based on what Jack says_

Ladybug is on the rooftop surveying the town and looking for trouble. She turns around and sees Chat Noir.

Chat Noir: Listen, I always get a boner every time I see you. I just wanted to know if you and I can have children together.

Ladybug: [Confused] What? No! I'm way too young to have sex or children.

Sculptor (formerly the Copycat): [Comes onto the rooftop] Then have children with me Ladybug. I love you more than this chump!

Ladybug: [Annoyed] I'm not interested in any of you. Now leave me alone! [Jumps off the rooftop, lands safely on ground, and runs to the back of a building to transform back to Marinette]

 _Marinette runs away from the building and bumps into Nathaniel._

Nathaniel: [Stunned] Whoa, Marinette? [Awkwardly smiles] I am having the biggest boner right now!

Marinette: [Annoyed and rolling her eyes] Oh My God, not again!

Lisa: That sounds more realistic and true to the show.

Jack: Yes, yes it does.

Lisa: Stop sexualizing the characters, though.

Jack: I'm not doing it, it does it to itself!

Lisa: [groans and rolls eyes] Oh Jack!


	3. Chapter 3:The Day Adrien almost died!

Nathalie knocked on the door of Adrien's room. "Adrien," she said, "Adrien are you there?" No answer was heard from the other side of the door. "Adrien, it's me Nathalie," She said, "May I come in? Please?" There was still no answer, only silence. Marinette came up behind her, "May I try talking to him, Ma'am?" Nathalie turned around, glaring at Marinette, "What on earth are you still doing here?"

"I just came to talk to Adrien; I wanted to see if he's all right, "said Marinette. "You really shouldn't be here, Ms. Marinette," said Nathalie, "This is a family matter not some…junior high book club meeting," Nathalie turned Marinette around and gave her a light push. "Really," said Marinette, "Are _you_ his family?" Marinette turned around and crossed her arms. Nathalie's eyebrows furrowed as she placed her hands on her hips, "I may not be part of his actual bloodline, but I _am_ his caretaker and it's my responsibility to make sure he's all right." "Well, it's my responsibility, too!" Marinette said, uncrossing her arms and clenching her fists. "Exactly how?" asked Nathalie. "Because I'm his par-," Marinette paused, looking at Nathalie, then she cast her eyes to the floor, "I'm his…um, really good friend, and I really care about him, and if you would just let me try to speak with him, I think I could get through to him." Nathalie crossed her arms, "Friend or no friend, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to stay here. I need to-." Suddenly she heard the bedroom door being opened. She turned around to see Adrien, with his hand on the doorknob, looking tired and upset, "Let her in, Nathalie." "Adrien," Marinette and Nathalie said simultaneously. "Adrien, I came to talk to you about what you saw," said Nathalie, clasping her hands together as she walked toward Adrien. Adrien put up his left hand for her to stop, "Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it right now. I just want to speak to Marinette." "But Adrien, I needed to tell you something-," Nathalie pleaded. Adrien held up his index finger, "One person; that's it." Nathalie dropped her hands to her side, and slowly nodded with a look of worry. She turned around to Marinette and gestured for her to walk by, "You may go." Marinette smirked as she slowly walked by her and then she went into Adrien's room. Adrien lightly placed his hand on her back as she went in then he turned to look over at Nathalie. Nathalie looked back at him; she could see him glaring at her as she slowly closed the door. She frowned and turned away then made her way down the stairs.

Place: Kitchen Time- 8:49P.M.

Nathalie sat down in the kitchen, drinking a cup of ice tea that she got from inside the fridge, hunched a little over the table. " _What am I going to do_?" She thought, " _He doesn't seem like he even trusts me anymore, as if I knew something about his Dad_." She sat back in the chair and tilted her head back, giving a heavy sigh as she stared at the ceiling, " _Does he think I knew all along_? _I knew nothing of the sort_. _I mean, I might have already knew that he was Chat Noir because I had seen him transform from time to time, but his father…he completely eludes me._ "

She sat back up and propped her elbows up on the table, cradling her chin with her hands as she looked down at the empty cup in front of her. Adrien not wanting to speak with her only filled her with more concern for his wellbeing. "I only hope that he doesn't pull any of the stunts he tried to do years ago in the mist of all these revelations," She muttered.

5 years ago

"Yes, Mr. Agreste," said Nathalie, "The package is scheduled to be here around 9 o' clock this morning." "Good," said Mr. Agreste, "Have the delivery men take it to my office as soon as it arrives." "Yes Sir," Nathalie nodded. Mr. Agreste nodded, giving the same stern look on his face, then exed-out of the video chat. Nathalie placed her i-pad on the table and picked up her pen and note pad. She looked over her To-Do list, "Hmm, everything's checked here, and here," she checked off another task on the list, "…and here. Okay, all set."

"So, Nathalie," She heard a voice say from outside the open door; She looked up from her list to find Adrien poking his head into her office, "Did my father decide whether or not I could have a birthday party?" She frowned and looked down at her list, "He…he said he doesn't want you having a party. He said it would be best for you to keep practicing the piano for the concert happening this Sunday." Adrien's hopeful expression quickly turned into a frown as he lowered his head, "Again?" Nathalie nodded, still keeping her eyes on her list, "Yes. I'm sorry, Adrien." Adrien looked up at her and then sighed and turned away, "I'm sorry, too." He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Nathalie looked up to find the door closed. She bit her lip as her eyes widened and she put the notepad and pen down on the desk. Opening her drawer, she found a little pink box wrapped in a white ribbon and she took it out and made her way around her desk and out the door. Adrien was near the end of the hallway. "Adrien," She yelled as she quickly made her way down the hall, "Adrien, wait, I've got something for you!" Adrien stopped and turned around until Nathalie reached him. "I almost forgot to hand you this present I got for you,' she said, smiling, "I hope you like it." Adrien looked up at with surprise, his eyes sparkling as he smiled and slowly took the present from her. He opened it to find a little pin resembling the French flag; his smile grew even wider. He then hugged Natalie, his head resting beneath her bosom. Nathalie gently hugged him back. "Oh Nathalie," he said as tears rolled down his cheeks, "You've made me so happy!" Nathalie smiled and closed her eyes as she giggled. "You're the only one who has given me anything today, really," he continued, "I promise I'll put in a word with the big guy when I go home." Suddenly Nathalie opened her eyes and pulled back from Adrien, "Wait, what you mean when you 'go home'?" "I'm going to go where I feel I'll be most happy. Tell my father I love him, okay?" Nathalie gave Adrien a puzzled look, "Wait, but where is _home_ for you, Adrien?" "The kitchen, of course," said Adrien, "I'm going to go sit down in the kitchen and look at this pin for a few minutes before I start piano practice." "Okay then," said Nathalie, backing slowly backing away as Adrien let go of her. Adrien gave a small smile and waved at her before continuing his walk down the hallway and turning to the left. Nathalie slowly waved, still confused by his statement, but then turned around and headed back to her office.

A few minutes later, she was at her desk typing up a letter she had to send to Mr. Agreste's lawyer on his behalf. Suddenly, her hands froze and she couldn't move. She started to feel a pulsating sensation in her head as her eyes widened and her pupils started to glow a bright yellow. She was having another one of her visions. Usually when she had these it meant something bad was happening to someone she considered close to her, like her parents, or anyone in the Agreste family. Everything in her vision was gray, as usual, and usually seen from her point-of-view.

In her vision, she was in the kitchen looking around, but suddenly stopped when she saw Adrien at the table, writing a note on a small piece of paper with a black pen that his father gave him for his birthday. He put the piece of paper and pen down on the table and then took the pin out of the little pink box that she gave him for his birthday. He looked at it briefly, smiled, then fastened the pin onto his white shirt, and looked down at his navy blue pants and dusted them off. Then he went over to the drawer by the oven, and pulled out a large knife and closed the drawer. Adrien, turned to face the oven, raised the knife in front of him and pointed it at his chest.

"Finally time to go home," he said with tears rolling down his cheeks. Once he said that he jammed the knife through his stomach; his eyes widened as he began to cough up blood, then he dropped to the floor, his eyes remaining open as he lay in his own pool of blood. Nathalie looked over at the time featured on the digital clock of the oven; it was 9:35 A.M.

Suddenly there was a black-out. Nathalie gasped as her body unfroze and she squinted her eyes. She felt her chest as she blinked twice before fully opening her eyes and looking over at the clock. It was 9:32 A.M. "Oh no," She gasped, "Adrien!" She shot up from her desk and quickly made her way around her desk and out the door. She tried running down the hallway, but she ended up falling to the side because of her high-heels, so she took them off and flung them to the side, then she proceeded to run as fast as she could down the hallway and hurry down the stairs. "Adrien! Adrien wait!" She yelled as she ran across the lobby and into the dining room. She burst through the kitchen door by the dining room and saw Adrien with the knife in his hand pointed at himself as he was raising it. "Adrien, STOP!" She screamed frantically. Adrien turned his head, "Nathalie?!" Nathalie grabbed hold of him and wrestling the knife out of his hand, "Don't do it Adrien! You're too young to die; you're only nine-years-old!" "I don't care," yelled Adrien, "This is my only chance to be free of this misery! I don't want to live on in this stupid house anymore with a father who doesn't love me!" Adrien had a strong grip on the knife and was close to jabbing his skull with it until Nathalie pulled harder and was able to get the knife away from his head. "But what about your friends, all your family?" said Nathalie, "What about enjoying your childhood?" "I have no childhood," Adrien said bitterly, "I barely ever talk to people in my family, not even my Dad, and my Mom is been missing for three long years! I don't even have any friends!" "What about Chloe," said Nathalie, "Don't you have her?" "Nathalie, I have NO FRIENDS," said Adrien, "Chloe only likes me because our fathers are rich and she thinks I look "cute"! The day I had an eye-patch on because of that one incident, she didn't even want to play with me!" Adrien suddenly slowly let go of the knife and drop his knees to the floor, lowering his head as tears streamed down his cheeks. Nathalie placed the knife inside another drawer next to the over and kneeled down beside Adrien. She touched his chin and turned his head to have him look at her, "You really haven't been happy, have you?" Nathalie asked, her eyes getting watery. "No," Adrien said, his voice breaking, "I really try to be, I really do, but sometimes, I just…I just can't!" He buried his head into her chest and sobbed softly as she hugged him while a tear spilled out from her right eye and rolled down her cheek. "Ever since Mom disappeared, Dad hasn't been the same, and he never seems like he wants anything to do with me. I feel-," he said sniffling, "I feel like I have to do all these things to make him happy and I try to, but none of it seems to make him want to spend any more time with me when I ask him to. Sometimes, I feel like it's my fault Mom never came home!"

"Adrien, you're wrong," Nathalie said pulling away from him and lifting up his head, "None of this is your fault. Just because some bad things have happened in your life, it doesn't mean that you are at fault for any of it. You're a wonderful boy and you are worth so much more than you think. You're stronger than you think you are, too. Things may not be going the way you want now, but that doesn't mean you should quit at life. Things will change before you know it if you keep working hard and find a way to change your life. You understand?" Adrien looked at her with a puzzled look, "Are—are you sure?" he asked. "Positive," Nathalie said touching the tip of his nose with a smile, "Trust me." Adrien gave a faint smile and nodded, "Okay. Okay, I'll try." "Try your best," said Nathalie as they got up from the floor. "I'll try my best," replied Adrien getting up from the floor and taking the hand Nathalie offered him. She lead him out of the kitchen and switched off the lights on her way out.


	4. Chapter 4: Adrien's inner pain

Marinette sat on Adrien's bed as she watched Adrien pace the floor. The room smelled like a mix of cinnamon and apples, and the temperature in the room was warm. It made Marinette get a more "homey" type of vibe from the bedroom, which was ironic considering how she was in an otherwise luxurious mansion. Pressing her hands down on the bed, she rubbed her hands against the covers that were made of soft fleece. It felt good. " _I cannot believe I'm actually in Adrien's bedroom_ ," She thought, " _I just wish it wasn't at such a bad time_." Adrien had his hands behind his back. His head was down, and although it had been two minutes since he re-invited Marinette back into his bedroom, he hadn't said a single word to her.

Plagg was plopped on the desk by the computer, munching on camembert. Marinette could hear his loud chewing and the sound of him moaning in delight every time he took a bite. The sound of his moans grew louder each time he did bite off a piece of that smelly cheese. It was enough to annoy Adrien and snap him out of his pensive state. "Plagg," Adrien said, stopping in the middle of the room, "Will you cut that out? It's getting to be really annoying!"

Plagg took one last bite of his camembert, swallowed it, and then released a small belch before looking back at Adrien. Marinette winced at the sound of him expelling gas. Adrien just looked at him with disgust. Plagg licked his lips and wiped the crumbs off his face, "Ah, what's it to you? I'm just having a meal. Besides, shouldn't you be talking to your girlfriend over there?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Adrien snapped, "She's-," He took a moment to look at Marinette, who was looking at him worriedly, then turned his head back to Plagg, "She's just a friend." Marinette sighed and casted her eyes to the bed, "Oh."

"Don't take it personally, Marinette," said Adrien, turning his head to Marinette, "I didn't mean that in a bad way, I mean-"

"No need to explain," said Marinette cutting him off as she looked up at him, "I get it." Her eyes met his. He slumped his shoulders and slide his hands into his pockets, turning his head away from her.

"Marinette, this whole 'secret identity' thing is just too-"

"Hard to take in?" she asked.

"Yeah," He said, "I mean, I never expected you to be-"

"Ladybug?" she interjected once more.

"Yeah," He said, turning his head back to her, "I just—I just can't take it all in. I can't take any of this in! I don't know what's happening, what's really going on with my Dad, whether or not all that stuff that guy said is true, or anything."

Marinette rose from the bed and reached her right hand out as if she was going to comfort Adrien, "Adrien, look, I know it's hard, but-."

"No, you don't, Marinette," Adrien said pushing her hand away, and taking a step to his right as he covered his eyes, "You don't know what it's like at all!"

"Adrien?" Marinette said with her eyes widening.

"For years," said Adrien, "I've had to deal with such emptiness in my life, dealing with a father who is so distant that it seems like he never wants to spend any time with me or wants me around, and a mother who hasn't been in my life since I was six-years-old. For years, I had this internal battle with myself…always telling myself that She out there, somewhere, still alive, yet having the sinking feeling that she might not be. The closest thing I've ever had to a mother around here is my father's assistant, Nathalie…but, even she's not around me that often."

Marinette brought her right hand down to her side and stood there, looking at Adrien as he began wiping a tear from his left eye.

"My father hasn't been the same since my mother disappeared," Adrien said, sniffling. "He hasn't shown up around the house either. He just spends all his days at the office…working." He turned his head to Marinette, tears still spilling out of his eyes, "You know, I only ever joined the modeling industry to make him happy. I still rarely ever see him smile or show if he even cares," His voice started to break, "I don't want to believe that all this time he has ignored me all these years just to spread evil all throughout Paris! I don't want to have to fight my own father, but I don't know what else to say!" Adrien shook his head as he looked down at the floor, scratching the back of his head, "I'm just so angry, yet so confused, I don't know what to do!"

"Oh, Adrien, don't cry," Marinette rushed to his side and put her arms around him. He hugged back tightly as he began sobbing.

" _Wow_ ," Plagg thought, frowning as he looked at Adrien sobbing while holding onto Marinette, " _Poor guy_ ," He then tilted his head down and started tapping his chin with his little paw, " _I wonder if some camembert would cheer him up_."


	5. Chapter 5: The Interrogation

"Adrien…Adrien, hold yourself together. Everything's going to be okay." Marinette gently pulled the sobbing boy off of her and held up his chin. His watery eyes met hers. "We are going to get through this together. You're not alone, okay? You need to understand that. Listen, if what Telecast said is true than we'll get to the bottom of this and confront your father together. But now is not the time to focus on him right now; we need to find Telecast and stop him before he goes after your father."

Adrien moved her hand away from his chin and held it in his for a second before kissing it. "You're right, my lady. We do need to get to the bottom of this before others fall under his spell." He put his hands down into his pocket and backed away but first I need to find something in the kitchen to eat. I'm going downstairs."

"Really? Now? We have a villain that we have to fight. There are people in town that we need to save before something really bad happens!" Marinette placed her left hands on her hips and gestured to the window with her right. "Chill out, Bugaboo, it'll be quick. Besides, Telecast said that he wasn't planning to attack until midnight; it's only seven, we'll have plenty of time to catch him by then and stop him from getting to my father." Marinette rolled her eyes and groaned. She was happy to see that Adrien had regained his composure, but in all honesty it was strange to see him acting like his alter-ego and thinking about food at a time like this. Why would he need to eat now? "I haven't had anything since this morning and I honestly feel like I'm going to pass out, if that's what you're wondering." Wow, he read my mind, she thought. Then again, it wasn't hard to guess considering she had already given her non-verbal expressions of disapproval at his actions.

Plagg, who sat down on the desk munching his camembert turned his head to the side to see if there was more available. Maybe he could give one to Adrien since he said he was so hungry. To his luck, he spotted a piece of the smelly old cheese beneath the computer monitor. He had left it there an hour earlier when Adrien told him to hide in his jacket before his friends come over for their first movie night at his house. "So, that's where I left that one," he said as he flew over to the piece of cheese and picked it up, "Maybe he can take this one." He rose off the desk and zipped towards Adrien. "Hey Adrien, since you're so hungry and all, wanna try some camembert? It's tasty!" Adrien winced at the smelly piece of cheese that was being offered to him, and covered his nose. "Eww! No thanks. I don't like that stuff." Plagg frowned, then his face quickly turned into a grin as he brought the cheese closer to Adrien's face. "But you always bring it with you wherever you go." Adrien backed away and waved off the smell with his other hand. "Yeah, for you! You know I don't like moldy cheese. In fact, I've gotten sick of the stuff since the day I decided to always have it ready for you. Get it away!"

"Aw, come on!" Plagg protested, "Just one bite?"

"Plagg, no."

"But, I thought you wanted me to learn to be less selfish. Why is it now when I decide to be more giving that you don't take my offer?"

"Um, maybe because I don't like it. I just told you that; what part did you not understand?"

"Um, the 'not-want' part."

"Arrgh! Plagg, stop, I said no. Thanks but no thanks. I'll get my own snacks, please."

Marinette looked at the two, baffled at their humorous bickering. She covered her mouth as she giggled, which startled the two as they snapped their heads at her, then glanced at each other.

Adrien took his hands off his nose and Plagg tossed the piece of cheese in the air and caught it in his mouth. "Fine. Suit yourself," he said as he chewed his delicious treat. Adrien rolled his eyes as he growled, then he turned his back and unlocked the bedroom door and flung it open, stopping the door with his hands so it wouldn't bang against the wall, and stepped outside the bedroom. "I'll be right back."

"Okay, hurry up." Marinette gently called out to him, continuing her giggling as she went over to the bed and sat back down. She opened up her little purse to find Tikki munching on one of the cookies that she had left inside for her. Plagg flew out the door and followed Adrien.

"You look so grouchy. What's up with you?" Plagg asked, hovering over Adrien's shoulder as the boy made his way down the stairs. Adrien sighed, glancing at Plagg. "Plagg, next time someone tells you that they don't want what your offering them, take it as a 'No', okay?" Plagg hovered over to the top of Adrien's head and plopped down on top of it. His yellow locks nestled the kwame's body like a soft fluffy pillow. Adrien turned to go into the dining room as soon as he made it to the bottom of the stairs. Plagg slumped himself closer to Adrien's forehead and placed his little paws in the viewpoint of Adrien's eyes. "Aw, are you mad because you think I embarrassed you in front of Ladybug?" He said Ladybug in a rather obnoxious tone of voice. "Your _girlfriend_?"

"Plagg, stop, she's not my girlfriend!" Adrien swiped Plagg's paws away from his eyes, and reached the top of his hand to remove Plagg from the bed of his hair. "Aw, c'mon, that head of yours is so soft! Why are you denying your relationship all of a sudden? I thought you wanted her to be your girlfriend. After all, she is your dream girl, isn't she?"

Adrien stopped in his tracks, narrowed his eyes at Plagg, then opened his white jacket with one hand, while releasing the little creature from his other. He flicked Plagg with one finger, and the Kwame flew into the inside pocket of the jacket. "I don't want to talk about romance right now."

"Wow, someone's seems to have a stick up his hiney! Geesh!" Plagg said, popping his head out from inside the teenager's jacket pocket. "Plagg, I'm really not in the mood for this!" Adrien groaned, slightly tilting his head back as he rolled his eyes. "Get back in there; I don't want anyone to see you." Plagg rolled his eyes and sunk his head back into the pocket. Adrien sighed as he continued walking through the dining room.

When he entered the kitchen door, he saw Nathalie at the stove making tea. "Nathalie?" Nathalie slowly turned her head towards Adrien. "Oh. Hello Adrien, I—I didn't see you there." Adrien stepped forward as he scratched the back of his head with his left hand. "It's fine. I just got here, actually."

"Do you need anything?" Nathalie turned back to the stove and reached her hand towards the dial to turn it off. Adrien pursed his lips, casting his eyes down to his right, "No, well, actually yes. Um, is there any lasagna?"

Nathalie gave a puzzled expression as she turned around to face Adrien, "But Adrien, doesn't lasagna give you gas?" Adrien moved to the table and sat in the chair. "Yes, what of it?" Nathalie put her hands on her hips. "You'll upset your stomach."

"Just pour some of that tea for me to calm down my stomach then." replied Adrien. Nathalie shook her head as she turned back to the stove, and grabbed the handle of the pot filled with steaming water and placed it on the larger stove top. She took two lime-green colored mugs and opened a pink box filled with herbal tea bags. Taking one out, she placed it in one of the cups and then took the pot to pour the hot water into the cup with the tea bag. Then she took the little tassel that was attached to the bag and dabbed the tea in the hot water until the herbs changed the color of the liquid. Once she was done she let the tea bag sink to the bottom of the cup, and served the cup to Adrien. "Here you are, Adrien. I'll get the lasagna."

Adrien took the cup from Nathalie. "Thanks, Nathalie." She nodded then moved towards the fridge and opened it to find the lasagna on a light-blue plate covered in a plastic wrap, and took it out. While Nathalie took off the wrap and place the cold plate in the microwave to warm up the food, Adrien stared down at his cup. Looking back at him was the sullen face of a young boy who had been kicked in the heart too many times by a person he considered one of the most important people in his life. The eyes were as weary looking as they could be, dry, and almost gave the appearance of remorse rather than hurt, for some reason. But why? Could it be that deep down, he was curious as to why his own father would take on such a persona? His father always acted distant towards him in particular ever since his mother's disappearance. He treated him as if the mere fact that Adrien existed in his parents' life was why the Agreste family had dealt with so much misfortune in there lives. He cradled his chin in the palm of his left hand, elbows were on the table, he shook his head.

"Is everything all right, Adrien?" Nathalie asked, placing the warmed-up plate of lasagna in front of him. "You look pretty down." She handed him a silver fork. "A lot is happening right now." Adrien said, toying with the lasagna on his plate with his fork. Nathalie moved around the table and sat in the chair, opposite to Adrien. "Like what?" Adrien took a bite of his lasagna, chewing and swallowing before answering Nathalie. "Did you know that my father was Hawkmoth?" He took another bite of his lasagna. Nathalie's eyes widened. "What? No. W-Why would you even think that?" Adrien looked down at his plate and toyed with his lasagna again, then he glanced at Nathalie once more.

"Don't lie to me, Nathalie. Did you know about my father's alter-ego?" He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "You've probably been hiding a lot of things for my father, haven't you? Do you have any skeletons in the closet, Nathalie?"

Nathalie's eye brows furrowed as she rose up from her chair, her hands slamming down on the table. "I will not be interrogated by a young boy willing to ride on flimsy assumptions he heard from some whack-job on television!" Adrien rose an eyebrow as he smirked at Nathalie. "Listen, Adrien, I didn't know anything about your father that he didn't reveal to me. Not his alter-ego, not any evil schemes, not anything that wasn't well…business-related."

Adrien squinted his eyes as he let out a loud belch that startled Nathalie. Then he opened his eyes to look back at her. "Uh-huh, like I'm going to believe that!" Nathalie was surprised by this teen's behavior. Usually he was more mild-mannered and unlikely to talk back, but for some reason he was acting like a fresh young, teenaged boy. Was this a phase? She thought. "Honest, Adrien, I never conspired with your father in any way." Adrien rose up from his chair and leaned on the table. "Then prove it!"


	6. Chapter 6: Something revealed

"What's going on here?" asked Marinette as she slowly entered the kitchen with a puzzled expression on her face. Adrien glanced at Marinette, and then looked back at Nathalie. For a moment there was nothing but silence between the three. So quiet that only the wind blowing outside could be heard. "Nothing, Marinette. Nathalie was just…warming up my lunch for me to eat before I head out with you, that's all." Adrien said with a sigh as he plopped back down onto his chair and leaned back against the backboard, crossing his arms. "Really?" asked Marinette. "Because it looked as though you two were fighting. You sure nothing's going on?" Adrien looked at Marinette with a cold blank expression on his face then turned his head towards Nathalie once more before casting his eyes down to his left.

Nathalie rolled her eyes and sighed as she stood up. "Marinette, would you like anything to eat?" The question caught Marinette off guard. She stared at Nathalie with a confused look on her face as her stomach started growling. "Um…yes?" Adrien sat up straight and once again picked up his fork so he could take a scoop of that lasagna. He shoved it into his mouth and chewed it quickly before digging in for another bite.

"I'll get you something from the fridge…that is…if that's okay with you, Ms. Marinette." Nathalie said as she made her way around the table and towards the fridge. She opened it and then looked at Marinette for an answer. Marinette still gave her a confused look. "Well, um. Okay. What do you have?" Nathalie smirked as she rose an eyebrow and reached for something in the fridge. She took out a plastic plate of spaghetti and meat balls covered in a plastic wrap and put it in front of Marinette's face. "Spaghetti and meat balls?" Marinette looked at the plate, then looked back at Nathalie and slowly nodded, giving a faint smile.

"Okay, I'll warm it up for you then." She went over to the microwave once again and opened the door, unwrapping the plate of food with one hand before placing it inside. She then closed the door and set the timer to 3 minutes. Marinette went over to the table and pulled out a chair so she could sit next to Adrien, who was practically finished with his lasagna by the time she joined him at the table. "Adrien…?" said Marinette. "What was going on in here? You never answered my question." Adrien covered his mouth and let out a short, guttural belch. "Ooh! Excuse me!" He said with his eyes widened as he blushed. He shut his eyes and shook his head and sighed. "It was nothing, Marinette. Honest."

"It didn't look like nothing." Marinette said with a smirk on her face.

"Well, it was nothing." said Adrien, with a hint of annoyance in his tone as he rolled his eyes. Marinette rose an eyebrow. "Well, okay then…fine. Be that way." She mumbled as she turned away from him and placed her arms on the table.

Nathalie pulled out the warm, steamy plate of spaghetti and placed it on the table in front of Marinette. Adrien eyes followed her arm as it swept by him once she brought it back to her side. "Thank you, Nathalie." said Marinette with a more gracious smile this time. She took a moment to stare at the meal, her nose tingling at the warm, fresh scent of the tomato sauce that was inviting her to dig in. She picked up a fork and twirled a section of the spaghetti and lifted it off the plate, then she stuffed it into her mouth. The oily, savory taste of the spaghetti was matched instantly by the tanginess of the slightly pasty but simultaneous smooth sauce. "Mm! So good!" Adrien looked on at the girl sitting next to him whose eyes sparkled as she was delving into her meal, exploring every content on her plate. He snickered at her when she turned to look at him and gave a faint smile with those stuffed cheeks of hers, then turned back to her meal. He then turned his head to look at Nathalie with suspicion. She hesitantly returned Adrien's glance, then looked away as she went over to the stove. She opened the cabinet door and took out a small box titled _Tea Republic_ with a small caption under it saying _Chamomile tea_.

Adrien's stomach started making gurgling sounds as he grabbed it and groaned. All of a sudden, he could feel movement happening inside the pocket of his shirt and he looked inside to find Plagg munching down on a piece of camembert. Plagg looked up at Adrien who was blankly staring at him. "What's your problem?" Adrien's eyes widened as he gasped and looked back at Nathalie who was still brewing the tea. "Shhh! Quiet!" he whispered.

Nathalie's ears twitched. She turned around. "What was that?" Adrien looked at her nervously. "Uh, nothing, Nathalie. I just was talking to, uh…" He looked over at Marinette who was busy slurping in her spaghetti with tomato sauce all over her mouth. "…Marinette. I was talking to Marinette." Marinette looked up and snapped her head towards Adrien with her eyes widened, blinking. She looked at him like a befuddled deer staring at a car's headlights. "Wasn't I, Marinette?" asked Adrien. Marinette shifted her eyes from Nathalie to Adrien, whose eyes looked at her as if he was pleading for her to save him from embarrassment. Her eyes shifted to Nathalie and she gave nod and a sheepish smile as she squinted her eyes.

"Okay then." said Nathalie, turning back to the stove. Adrien bowed his head, letting out a sigh as he turned back to the table to finish the remaining bits of lasagna on his plate. But just as he picked up his fork and dug it under the piece of food on partly clear, plastic white plate, a piece of camembert cheese fell from his shirt pocket, bounced off his right leg, and landed on the black and white tiled floor, next to the sink that was by the stove. Plagg popped his head out from inside the shirt pocket and zipped out to fly down to the floor and grab it…and that was when Natalie's ears twitched once more and she felt a strange urge to turn around and look down at the floor.

There she saw him, a small black creature with big, lime green eyes and small, slit, black pupils, and tiny little paws holding the piece of camembert as he stared back at her nervously. "Plagg?" said Nathalie.


	7. Chapter 7:Something you must know

Plagg stared into the woman's serene, light-blue eyes as she kept his eyes on him. Adrien started sweating, looking at the two who were eyeballing each other, one standing absolutely still, and one hovering only a few centimeters in the air just over one of the black tiles. He didn't know if it was the lasagna getting to him again, or utter nervousness, but he could feel a tightness in his chest and uneasiness in the pit of his stomach. Marinette, looking stunned with her mouth agape, dropped her fork. The clang sound it made as it hit the floor snapped Nathalie out of her shocked state. Nathalie blinked, shaking her head. "Uh, um, uh…okay, what?"

"How do you know my name?" asked Plagg.

"Huh?" Nathalie kneeled down to the floor.

"How do you know my name?" Plagg said this time enunciating each word that came out of his mouth. "Are you a government? Are you here to take my camembert?!" Nathalie snickered, shaking her head. "You don't remember me at all, don't you?"

"Well, no, why would I?" Plagg quipped, backing away from the woman.

Adrien wiped the sweat off his forehead with the palm of his hands and sat up straight, glaring at Nathalie. "Yeah, how do you know who he is, Nathalie?"

Nathalie glanced at Adrien and pursed her lips. She rose from the floor, scooping up Plagg as she did so and cradled him in her hands as brought him over to Adrien. "Okay, here's the deal: what I'm about to tell you may actually surprise you, but you need to know all this in order to truly understand. Is that understood?"

Adrien rose an eyebrow. "What is it that you have to tell me?" Marinette brushed past Adrien, catching Nathalie's eye. "Yeah, what is it that you need to tell us?" Nathalie bit her lip as she looked at Marinette, then she sighed. "When I was your age, Marinette…I, too, was Ladybug."

Marinette and Adrien gasped and exchanged glances before looking back at Nathalie. "You, used to be Ladybug? But how?" asked Adrien.

"I was chosen," Nathalie said, shrugging her shoulders, "It's as simple as that."

Marinette tilted her head down and tapped her chin. "Wait, so you're one of my predecessors? I remember Tikki mentioning that there had been many Ladybugs throughout history….," Marinette looked up at Nathalie with awe and excitement, "I can't believe I'm actually getting to meet one!"

"Tikki? Is she here?" Nathalie uttered with astonishment. Marinette smiled and opened up her purse revealing the little red, black-spotted kwami munching one of the last chocolate chip cookies she left for her inside. "See? Tikki come out for a second. I have someone I'd like you to meet." Nathalie looked into the bag. Her eyes met the tiny, red critter who was gazing into her eyes, with not just surprise but absolute fear. She gasped, clutching her half-eaten cookie as she backed up against the silky wall of the purse. Marinette reached into her purse and scooped her up. "It's okay, Tikki. This isn't a stranger; it's an old friend of yours." Nathalie's eyes sparkled as she smiled at Tikki. "Hello, old friend. Do you remember me?"

Tikki, looking puzzled, shook her head. She wanted to know what on earth was going on. Why was Marinette even showing Tikki to a complete stranger? She thought "complete" was the right word to describe this impromptu introduction, because this woman and Tikki had never met as far as she remembered. Had Marinette completely lost her marbles? She squinted her left eye, slightly turning her head away from the woman, then suddenly her eyes snapped wide open and she hovered closer to the woman's face. "N-Nathalie?"

Nathalie giggled, squinting her right eye as Tikki hugged her cheeks and kissed her eye lid. "Long time no see!"

"It has been forever since I have seen you, I—I thought I'd honestly never see you again after you left." Tikki said this with joy, but there was a bit of sadness in her voice that Nathalie noticed as Tikki plopped down into the palm of her hands. Nathalie's smile faded into a frown. "I know," she said softly, her eyes shifting down to her left, "it has, hasn't it?"

"Why did you leave me? Why did you and Gabriel leave us all behind?" asked Tikki.

"Oh, Tikki," said Nathalie with pleading eyes, "I just couldn't stay. I couldn't."

"You…could have." Tikki replied. "You really could have."

"Wait a minute", said Adrien holding up an index finger from his right and left hand, "What does she mean you 'left her behind'? And why did she mention my father? Is she talking about him or was there another Gabriel in your life that we've never heard of?"

"Yeah, what does she mean by that?" asked a bewildered Marinette.

Nathalie puckered her lips and sighed. "Your father, Gabriel Agreste, used to be my partner-in-crime, Chat Noir."

Adrien crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows as she remained silent. "I know this seems hard to believe," She continued, "…but it's true. He was indeed Chat Noir and when we were kids he…behaved very differently than the way he is today. He saw things differently back then, we…use to spend a lot of time together. He was honestly one of my best friends."

Adrien pursed his lips, taking in a deep breath as he shifted his eyes towards Marinette, then he shot his eyes back at Nathalie. "So, what happened then?"

"A lot." said Nathalie coldly. She took a second to look down at Tikki, sighing as she gently rubbed the little critter's arm with her right thumb. Then shifted her eyes back to Adrien. "A lot of things really happened and really changed." There was a hint of sadness and frustration in her voice.

"Like what?" asked Marinette, looking concerned as she crossed her arms.

Nathalie took a deep breath. This was it; everything that she had locked away inside of her all these years were to finally be let out. All the lies, all the secrets, all the choices made in the past and the dire consequences that followed, unraveled, laid bare for all of them in the room to see. All of it would explain the messes made by her and the person she knew as her boss. But was she ready to even speak of it after all these years, daring to re-open a chapter of her life to these young souls who were testing her with their judgmental gazes?

"It all started in September of 1987."


	8. Chapter 8: Just Fifteen Years Old

"I was just fifteen at the time." said Nathalie, petting Tikki's head as she looked down at the little kwami. "I woke up one morning a little groggy but, you know," she shrugged her shoulders as she lifted up her head to look the two teens in the eye, "ready to start my first day of school."

Date: September 5th, 1987 Location: Nathalie's bedroom, at the Dupain household.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Nathalie lay facing the window, covered with the pink, plush comforter she had wrapped around her body, except for her head. The sunlight, peering through the clear glass window practically blinded her as she slowly opened her eyes. She yawned and turned around in her bed, stretching her arm out to reach the button on her alarm clock on her night stand. That thing seemed like it was going to continue with that irritating noise if she didn't do anything about it. After silencing it, she pushed off her cover and raised her arms over her head as she stretched her whole body while lying in bed, twisting her hips and making sure the toes of her feet almost make it to the edge of the bed. She let out an exhausted sigh and sat up on her bed, knees bent and reaching her chin as she gently rubbed her forehead, then reached to the back of her head so she could rub her neck.

Letting out a big yawn as she slowly got out of bed, she made her way to the door and opened it. "Oh geez." She stopped in the middle hallway when she saw her older brother Tom doing push-ups. Tom was a big, burly, young man with a zest for two things in life: athletics and working in his father's bakery. Raising himself vigorously and sinking back down every time as he used his arms to push against the floor, he huffed "Sixty-one…sixty-two…sixty-three…sixty-four…sixty-five…sixty-six…sixty-seven…". Sighing while shaking her head and smirking, Nathalie glanced at him. "Back at it again with the push-ups, big bro?"

"Sixty-nine…seventy…seventy-one…," he stopped and looked up at his sister. "Huh? O-oh, yeah, yeah, I am. I'm trying to train for this wrestling competition I have this Friday. You know," he continued raising himself up and down, "Gotta make sure these guns got bullets in 'em." He chuckled.

Nathalie snickered. "Well, okay. That sounds good. Good luck preparing them 'guns', old tommy-boy."

"Yeah, Thanks, Sis." He bowed his head down once more, making sure he stared at the little dust particles on the mahogany floor.

Nathalie walked to the left side of him, tippy-toeing around Tom's arm. Tom moved to his left, closer to the wall.

Nathalie dropped her feet back to the floor and walked past him. "Thanks Tom."

"Tom moved back into the middle of the hallway and continued his push-ups. "No problem."

Nathalie walked into the bathroom and flicked on the lights. Making her way to the sink, she looked around the room.

Her eyes widened at the site of her tooth brush lying on top of the fuzzy toilet cover. "Oh, there's my tooth brush!" She picked it up and turned on the faucet, releasing the clean, rushing water as she placed her tooth brush under it. Removing the cap of the tooth paste and squeezing the bottom of it, she spread it on her brush and jammed said brush in her mouth.

"Nathalie, breakfast is ready!" Nathalie heard her father call to her from downstairs. She spit in the sink and rinsed her mouth. Then she grabbed a small peach colored towel hanging on a rail and wiped her mouth with it. Then she dashed towards the door and flung it open, peering out to the hallway. Tom was nowhere in sight; he must have been already down stairs chowing down on whatever meal was on the table. "Yeah Dad, I'm coming!"

"Okay. Make it quick!" She heard him say. "You don't want your crêpes getting cold!"

Nathalie nodded and flicked off the light, making her way back into her bedroom. "Ugh, I gotta find something to wear." She went over to straighten the floral bed sheets and fold the fluffy pink comforter. Rushing over to the closet and flipped through the clothes on the hanger, then looked down at her light blue night gown, then back at the messy jungle in front of her. Her clothes were everywhere, the floor, over a hanger, some even partially showing from the dark corner of the inside of that closet she referred to as "the dark side". She didn't know what was even on that side, but she remembered at least seeing one rat scurry out from over there and make its way under her bed. She had to call her Dad that day to get rid of it, and he ended up calling the exterminator right before fainting in the hallway.

A few minutes later she was in her favorite ensemble: A black shirt that had long, burgundy sleeves; her favorite denim jeans; a pair of black and white sneakers, and a black wrist watch. Her raven-colored hair was pulled into its usual style: two puffy pigtails tied back with red elastic waist bands, and nice, smooth bangs.

She rushed downstairs to the kitchen. Her Dad was sitting at the table reading a newspaper. "Hm, interesting, very interesting."

She kissed her dad on the cheek. "Hey Dad."

"Mm, hey sweet heart."

"What's so interesting?" She asked, taking her seat.

"A man in something that looked like a 'bear-suit' attacked a group of young tourists at the Champs de l'Ḗlyssés yesterday afternoon."

Nathalie rose her eye brows. "Really? Wow, that is interesting."

Tom swallowed the last piece of his meal and put the fork down on the table. "Does it mention any reason why he attacked those tourists, Dad."

Nathalie picked up a spoon with her left hand and grabbed a small white jar of sugar. "Was anyone hurt?"

"Yeah, a few. It wasn't that bloody, however. At least, that's what it says here."

"What? Bloody? Whoa, did anyone die?" Nathalie asked, opening the jar.

Tom stared at his dad, remaining silent as his eyes widened.

"Just two people."

"Goodness! That sounds horrible! Who would even do such a thing?"

"Jonah!" uttered Tom, as if the name practically spilled out of his mouth.

Nathalie and Mr. Dupain looked over at a worried Tom. His broad face filled with fear. "Jonah? Who is Jonah?"

Tom casted his eyes down to his empty plate and pursed his lips for a moment before speaking once more. "A friend of mine from school."

Nathalie's eyes softened. "Was he one of the people who was killed?"

"No, I think…he's the killer." Tom said looking up from his plate.

"Oh God!" Nathalie covered her mouth. "Tom, I…," She reached her hand out and patted his arm. "I'm so sorry. This must be terrible for you."

"Oh…My…God!" Tom rubbed his forehead. "My best friend's a murderer."


	9. Chapter 9: Tom's friend, Adolf

"My friends and I were just standing in the hallway…goofing off, you know…" Tom sat back in this chair, looking down at the surface of the table. "My friends, Davis and Clarice, had just got out of their physics class. Usually, they were seen with my other friend… Adolf, who's this foreign exchange student from Germany that recently moved here for this study abroad program."

"Okay can you tell me about Adolf?" asked Nathalie. Tom took a moment to look at Nathalie, raising his left eyebrow.

"Why, yes actually. I was actually going to get to that." He replied with a little chuckle. Nathalie blushed, the ruddiness of her cheeks were so visible. "Sorry." She said bashfully. "My mistake." "He's one of my best friends at school." Tom continued, giving Nathalie a small smile before returning to a more somber demeanor. "You see…the other day some kids were making fun of his German heritage by referencing the events of the Holocaust. They kept making fun of Adolf by calling him a Nazi, and yelling "Heil Hitler! Heil Hitler! Heil Hitler!" and other stuff like "Die, you Nazi scum!" every time he walked by them in the hallway. And sometimes, they would randomly interrupt their own conversations to start marching while making the Nazi salute and, like, some kid would say "Hey Adolf, this is what you want all of us to do, right? Right?" with, like, an emphasis on that last 'right', and I remember Adolf coming to me and telling me how much he "hated his name" and saying that he "wanted to go back home, and not be here in Paris with those other stupid kids". It was pretty tough for him."

"That's awful!" Nathalie said disgustedly. "Aren't there some Jewish kids at our school? I mean, they'd have to be pretty bothered by this, too, aren't they? I mean, you know, the mere mention of the Holocaust?" Tom looked up at Nathalie and shrugged his arms. "That's what I thought, too, but even some of the Jewish kids in my class were mocking him and joining in on the ridicule. I mean, seriously, this kid, Danny Krakowski, kept yelling out stuff like "Jew-killer" and "No more genocide, Hitler" when we were in the boys locker room just this past Thursday."

"So, what made him go over the edge?" asked Mr. Dupain.

"I think…I think…it's something that Davis and Clarice did…along with this bullying guy on my team named James Croquet. Yesterday, Davis and Clarice told me that they were going to pull a small prank on him that involved some bear costume, I guess, and yeah…" He paused for a few seconds. "…yeah, actually, I remember now. They planned on stealing his clothes and hiding them somewhere while he was showering near the boys' locker room, and replacing his clothes with a bear costume."

"What's the point of even doing that?" asked Nathalie, shaking her head and raising one eyebrow.

"I don't know; I think they might have been dared to do it or something by James. Probably peer pressure." Tom said, shrugging his shoulders.

Nathalie rolled her eyes. "So stupid."

"Tell me about it." Muttered Tom, rolling his eyes with a shake of his head.

Mr. Dupain took a sip of his coffee from his cup, then he smacked his lips as he took a few seconds to look down at the table, then he wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb and shot a look at his son. "You know…" He licked his lips with his tongue before continuing. "You know… I think the real question is 'Why didn't you do anything about it?' I mean, honestly son…" He began making gestures with his hands as he spoke. "You knew that this kid, Adolf, was going to be the victim of a cruel prank by his so-called 'friends', but you didn't warn him or anything about it."

Tom's eyes widened as he stared at his father. His cheeks began turning red as he clutched the handles of his chair. "No, no, you got it all wrong, Dad. I did try to find him so I could warn him. I mean…I had intentions of telling him about everything."

"Did you?" asked his father. "Did you really?"

"I did." Tom protested. "Dad, why are you asking like I planned all this myself or I was in on it. Adolf's my friend; I wouldn't do this to him."

"I know." Replied his father with a smirk. "I know, I know, I know. I just wanted to test you to see if you didn't cave into peer pressure."

Nathalie and Tom gave their father a puzzled look. "Why?" They asked.

"Because too many good kids end up doing bad things because of peer pressure." He took a moment to smack his lips as he looked down for a second, then he looked back up at the kids. "And it ends up causing a huge mess…and they end up having to face the consequences soon enough."

"True." Nathalie mumbled.

"Well, anyways, two people are dead because of your friends and that kid. That's so sad." He got up from his seat and took out a handkerchief from his left pocket to wipe off the bread crumbs on his pants. He cast a glance at Nathalie, then Tom. "Did you friend run off to somewhere? Does it say?"

Tom grabbed the newspaper and scanned the texts featured on the front page. "Nope, it doesn't say. Apparently he went missing."

"So, they're still on the search for him?" Nathalie asked, taking her hand off Tom's arm. The news startled her. What if this kid was still in monster-mode and would attack another student from her school? What if he gets shot by the police? What if other innocent people die? Who'd be able to stop him?

Her father made his way around her chair and went to wash his hands in the sink. "That's pretty scary. But you know what? We don't have time to dwell on this. You kids go grab your stuff so we could head on out and I could get you to school."

"Yes, Sir." They said saluting their father. The kids got up from the table and started cleaning after themselves, then they grabbed their backpacks and walked out the door with their dad following them. I hope nothing bad happens on our way to school, Nathalie thought to herself.


End file.
